QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Denny, M. Articles by Gaylord, B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Denny, M. Articles by Gaylord, B. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 1355-1362 (2002)
© 2002 The Company of Biologists Limited

Review

The mechanics of wave-swept algae

Mark Denny^1,* and Brian Gaylord²

¹ Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
² Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA

^* e-mail: mwdenny{at}leland.stanford.edu

Accepted 1 March 2002

Wave-swept marine algae must contend with the hydrodynamic forces imposed by extreme water velocities. Nonetheless, they seldom have a shape that appears streamlined and they are constructed of weak, compliant materials. How do they survive? The answer is complex, but a coherent story is beginning to emerge. The combined effect of frond shape and material properties ensures that algae are flexible. In small individuals, flexibility allows the plant to reorient and reconfigure in flow, thereby assuming a streamlined shape and reducing the applied hydrodynamic force. In large individuals, flexibility allows fronds to `go with the flow', a strategy that can at times allow the plant to avoid hydrodynamic forces but may at other times impose inertial loads. Our understanding of algal mechanics is such that we can begin to predict the survivorship of algae as a function of size, spatial distribution and wave climate.

Key words: marine alga, ocean wave, kelp, intertidal zone, hydrodynamic force, material properties, nearshore ecology

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JEB:

How Algae Weather the Waves

Kathryn Phillips
JEB 2002 205: i. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. J. Mach Mechanical and biological consequences of repetitive loading: crack initiation and fatigue failure in the red macroalga Mazzaella J. Exp. Biol., April 1, 2009; 212(7): 961 - 976. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Gaylord, M. W. Denny, and M. A. R. Koehl Flow Forces on Seaweeds: Field Evidence for Roles of Wave Impingement and Organism Inertia Biol. Bull., December 1, 2008; 215(3): 295 - 308. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. T. Martone and M. W. Denny To bend a coralline: effect of joint morphology on flexibility and stress amplification in an articulated calcified seaweed J. Exp. Biol., November 1, 2008; 211(21): 3421 - 3432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. T. Martone and M. W. Denny To break a coralline: mechanical constraints on the size and survival of a wave-swept seaweed J. Exp. Biol., November 1, 2008; 211(21): 3433 - 3441. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. J. Mach, D. V. Nelson, and M. W. Denny Techniques for predicting the lifetimes of wave-swept macroalgae: a primer on fracture mechanics and crack growth J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2007; 210(13): 2213 - 2230. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. J. Mach, B. B. Hale, M. W. Denny, and D. V. Nelson Death by small forces: a fracture and fatigue analysis of wave-swept macroalgae J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2007; 210(13): 2231 - 2243. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L. Boller and E. Carrington Interspecific comparison of hydrodynamic performance and structural properties among intertidal macroalgae J. Exp. Biol., June 1, 2007; 210(11): 1874 - 1884. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Harder, C. L. Hurd, and T. Speck Comparison of mechanical properties of four large, wave-exposed seaweeds Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2006; 93(10): 1426 - 1432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. W. Telewski A unified hypothesis of mechanoperception in plants Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2006; 93(10): 1466 - 1476. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Read and A. Stokes Plant biomechanics in an ecological context Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2006; 93(10): 1546 - 1565. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L. Boller and E. Carrington The hydrodynamic effects of shape and size change during reconfiguration of a flexible macroalga J. Exp. Biol., May 15, 2006; 209(10): 1894 - 1903. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. T. Martone Size, strength and allometry of joints in the articulated coralline Calliarthron J. Exp. Biol., May 1, 2006; 209(9): 1678 - 1689. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. SCHUTTEN, J. DAINTY, and A. J. DAVY Wave-induced Hydraulic Forces on Submerged Aquatic Plants in Shallow Lakes Ann. Bot., March 1, 2004; 93(3): 333 - 341. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]